School of Communication (SOC) seniors starting that much-dreaded job search are in luck. Recruiters from Chicago’s top companies will be at the Water Tower Campus on Tuesday, February 7, and the SOC is priming students by hosting a week full of workshops before the big day.

Print out your resumes and spend the evenings of January 30-February 2 learning how to get hired for entry-level jobs in journalism, advertising, public relations, and other communication fields. Loyola staff, alumni, and field professionals will be in Regents Hall on the 16th floor of Lewis Towers each of those days from 4-6 p.m. to offer advice about resumes, interviews, and the importance of marketing yourself in person and on the web.

Cheryl Manley, office assistant and event coordinator for the SOC, says each two-hour long workshop will begin with a panel discussion and conclude with individualized instruction for students. “The first hour will be informative with heavy note taking, but the second half will be Q&A and small group meetings that will lead to more personalized information for a student’s career search,” she adds.

Edelman, ABC, Groupon, Chicago Tribune, and Chicago Sun-Times are just some of the companies that have confirmed their attendance at these workshops.

Here’s the complete SOC Career Week schedule with event descriptions:

Monday, January 30 – “Resumes and Cover Letters”
Industry professionals will meet with students one-on-one to review these two job application necessities. Bring plenty of copies of both documents to have them edited to perfection.

Tuesday, January 31 – “Bragging Rights… And Wrongs”
Learn what’s missing and should be missing (hint, hint) from your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts. Online branding professionals will teach students the best practices for building a strong, web presence. Bringing your laptop is advised.

Wednesday, February 1 – “Ready, Set, Interview”
You may look great on paper, but seal the deal by mastering the art of the interview. Loyola’s improv group, the 45 Kings, will provide some comedic relief by showing ways to NOT get the job. Attendees will then practice their skills in several four-minute, speed dating style interviews with potential employers.
Thursday, February 2 – “Look the Part, Get the Job”
Five student models will sport their interview-appropriate attire that was purchased on a college student budget. Notable Chicago hair and clothing stylists will explain what looks make for a positive first impression.

Manley recommends students bring resumes and dress professionally for each of the workshops. Food from nearby eateries such as Flaco’s Tacos, Wow Bao, and other Water Tower Campus favorites will be served at each event.

The social media-focused “Bragging Rights…and Wrongs” is brand new this year. Heather Trulock, career counselor at the Career Development Center, believes it’s a timely topic and warns, “It’s not just enough to be online” anymore. She adds, “Because there are more candidates than open positions, having a strong branded online presence is essential in differentiating yourself from the competition and landing your dream job or internship.”

On Tuesday, February 7, students can impress potential employers with their new job-seeking skills at the SOC Career Fair from 3-5:30 p.m. in Kasbeer Hall in the Corboy Law Center, located at 25 E. Pearson.

Martin Gahbauer, employer relations coordinator for the Career Development Center, confirms that 20 companies have signed up for the fair, including Chicago Public Media (WBEZ), Groupon, and Walker Sands Communications. He says it’s typical for others to register last-minute.

Businesses will pursue candidates for full-time positions and part-time internships, so students of all class levels are encouraged to attend.

Gahbauer advises job-seeking students to “have their resumes in hand, have done research on the companies and positions they are interested in, and be dressed smartly in business attire.”

The SOC Career Week/Fair has yielded success stories in the past. Dene Brown, a 2011 graduate, was a Career Week makeover model last year. Brown was a then long-time employee at Victoria’s Secret, and her wardrobe consisted of sweatpants, low-cut shirts, and graphic tees. During Career Week, she scored an interview at a mid-size advertising agency in the north suburbs. The interview, which was scheduled the day after the makeover fashion show, went swimmingly, and Brown got the job. She credits the makeover for much of her success and says she learned a valuable lesson during that week: “Let your creativity speak through your words and work — not your hair and clothes.”

The four workshops during the SOC’s Career Week are open to undergraduate students from any school. However, the Career Fair is restricted to students with SOC majors/minors.

Momentum for the eradication of the Illinois Eavesdropping Act was high at a recent Loyola University Chicago panel discussion: Shattered Lens: A Citizen’s Right to Film.

“It’s pretty much black and white, cut and dry to me,” said panel speaker Gary F. McCarthy, superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. McCarthy’s recent transfer from Newark, New Jersey to Chicago made him foreign to the statute which makes it a criminal offense to take an audio recording of police acting in public without their consent.

“It appears this whole issue is going out the window. I actually am a person who believes in the audio and visual recording of police officers,” McCarthy said in his opening address.

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The controversial law in question is unique in the nation, punishable with up to 15 years in prison if found guilty. With the rapid emergence of “smartphones” and other audio-video recording devices, the temptation to record public events, including the actions of law enforcement officials, is not uncommon.

Panel speaker Lucy Dalgish, executive director for Reporter Committee for Freedom of the Press was mostly concerned with the law’s infringement on the practice of newsgathering.

“Most of the time, the journalist is covering protests—we have always had occasional problems. We are now working in this all the time,” Dalgish said. Dalgish explained how journalists are more often targeted as perpetrators of this crime.

Though Illinois has more strictly outlined the statute, law enforcement in other states have acted similarly in opposing the use of recording devices.

Dalgish cited the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota where journalist Amy Goodman was arrested along with 2 producers for videotaping protesters. They were later awarded a $100,000 settlement. St. Paul police departments implemented an online course to train officers how to deal with protests, with a portion of that curriculum drafted by RCFP.

“We received complaints all over the state,” said Grossman. “We had never really thought about the restraints on us until we started up our website. We realized it was a direct restraint to us as well.”

The ACLU filed suit in district court, asking to openly record and focus on police-civilian interaction in public places in a non-obstructive way.

“The federal district court gave us a short answer- the First Amendment didn’t provide such a right,” Grossman said. The case has been appealed to the Seventh Circuit Court.

McCarthy directed the conversation to the use of technology in a “modern terrorism world.”

When giving an example of someone photographing the underside of a bridge, McCarthy argued “a police officer should be able to articulate and question why someone is recording something.”

“I can see why officers are concerned with suspicious activity. I don’t think its compelling enough to ban general photography,” Dalgish responded.

Grossman said agreed, saying “the place where we run into trouble is where someone is prohibited from an activity like the prohibition of photography.”

It was generally agreed that the eavesdropping law needs to be changed. Grossman believes more attention to this issue will be drawn during this spring’s G8 and NATO meetings.

“We think this law will be problematic during G8 and Nato. It isn’t usual for people to engage in this behavior,” Grossman said.

For now, Grossman is “hopeful” about the Seventh Circuit appeal. Until any change is made, McCarthy intends to uphold the work of CPD officers.

“If the law makes sense, doesn’t make sense, we’re in charge with enforcing it,” McCarthy said. “The law is the law.”

Loyola University Chicago ranked higher than Northwestern University and the University of Chicago for the number of Peace Corps volunteers it produces. Loyola ranks No. 17 with 26 alumni currently serving as Peace Corps volunteers, an increase from 18 volunteers recorded in the field the previous year.

This year for the first time ever, Loyola University Chicago enters the Peace Corps’s list of top 25 medium-sized universities nationwide producing Peace Corps volunteers. Loyola ranks an impressive No. 17 with 26 alumni currently serving as Peace Corps volunteers, an increase from 18 volunteers recorded in the field the previous year. Loyola also now ranks fourth in the state for Peace Corps volunteers this year. Since Peace Corps was founded in 1961, 418 Loyola alumni have served in the Peace Corps. For the full story on the Peace Corps’s college rankings, click here.

In addition to the ranking, the Peace Corps’s regional recruiting office has announced that Regional Recruiter Kendrall Masten, who served in Zambia, will host a Peace Corps Week Information Session on the Loyola campus.The session will occur on Monday, February 27, at 6 p.m., in the Quinlan Life Science Center, room 312.